History Main / OlderIsBetter

The idea, especially in Fantasy settings, that older things generally are better. The swords left behind by an old civilization are better than those made by their modern descendants. Same goes for armor, magic, or whatever. Anything that can be described as "ancient" is better than its modern counterpart, as if people are regressing rather than inventing new technologies and improving on old ideas. In fact, this technology is so superior that it continues to outperform modern ones [[RagnarokProofing despite spending a dozen centuries half buried in dirt in a cave]]. This can be explained by a setting with MedievalStasis: if technology is not advancing, then older items made by legendary craftsmen will be better than modern gear made by run-of-the-mill craftsmen. Sometimes this can also be explained by the source of the items being a {{Precursor}} race or Civilization, with the "modern" civilization having simply not caught up to them yet.

* In ''{{Yu-Gi-Oh}}'', the older the magic, the better. This is especially seen in the Waking the Dragons arc. Got 5000 year old magic? Too bad, my magic is ''10,000'' years old.

* Servants from {{Fate Stay Night}} gain strength with age and fame. Gilgamesh, being the oldest Heroic Spirit, uses this to compensate by being up against more famous Heroic spirits in both the [[FateZero Fourth Grail War]] and [[FateStayNight the Fifth Grail War]]

* Asura in {{Soul Eater}} is the first kishin to have ever formeed, and is the strongest by far.

** [[{{JustifiedTrope}} Justified]] in that the tomes that recorded Ezra's techniques were destroyed in the lead up to a dark age.
* {{The Dresden Files}} Explicitly applies this to necromancy. The older the corpse being re-animated, the more powerful the result. Harry uses this rule to get around the fact that non-human zombies are less powerful than ones made from humans by re-animating a corpse several orders of magnitude older than any possible human corpse. [[spoiler:[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome Zombie]] [[{{HSQ}} T-rex]]]].

* Obviously very prominent in ''{{Warhammer 40000}}'' - not only They Don't Make Them Like They Used To - ancient magic weapons and eldar artifacts benefit from 'ancientness' as much as human technology.
** Human technology is locked in stasis due to technology [[MachineWorship becoming a religion]] and 'discovery' effectively becoming archaeology - the only way an innovation will ever be approved by the high priests of the tech-cult is if it can be shown to have been an original part, or intended optional extra, of the base design.

** The Tau, on the other hand, avert this entirely; as the naive upstart race they are constantly updating and upgrading their technology, seeking alliances with other species and generally acting entirely counter to the tone of the setting...unless you are foolish enough to get in their way.

[[folder:VideoGames]]
* ''AssassinsCreed'' 2 and Brotherhood both feature this. Altair's centuries old armor is better than all modern armor. Justified by it being made from a {{Precursor}} alloy. Ditto for Brutus' (as in Caesar's killer) armor, which is better than modern armor too, despite being even older. Similarly, Altair's sword and Brutus' dagger are better than their modern counterparts. And even in the Modern Era, the Pieces of Eden are the most powerful artifacts ever created - another example of ancient {{Precursor}} technology.

* In ''DiabloII'' (and clones) all of the items with more obscure ancient names are for some reason better.

** Parodied in the Slime Tube with 1950s clothing and toys that are nonetheless extremely powerful.
* In {{Star Control 2}}, the massive galaxy-dominating battleship was a repurposed artifact from The {{Precursor}}s; most of the ultra-powerful devices are Precursor in origin.

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[[folder:RealLife]]

* Newer technology often depends on certain assumptions and can be ineffective or even useless outside of that context. This can result in having "obsolete" technology used in places where new technology fares poorly or kept around as a backup. See RockBeatsLaser.

** Asura in {{soul eater}} is the first kishin to have ever formeed, and is the strongest by far.

* Top-tier equipment (not just unique artifacts and relics) in MightAndMagic tends towards the old, generally for one of three reasons: it was made with the help of the [[LostTechnology Heavenly Forge]], it is so costly and complicated to make that most examples in existence are [[AncestralWeapon Ancestral]], or it is made from materials [[{{Unobtainium}} no longer available, or at least very, very rare]].

* ''ChronoTrigger'' gear from 65,000,000 BC is better than most gear from the present, the middle ages, or even from ''the future''. Though the game is not linear about this, [[SortingAlgorithmOfWeaponEffectiveness following the storyline rather than specific timelines.]]

* ''TheMysteriousCitiesOfGold'' - All of the LostTechnology of the {{Mayincatec}} {{Precursors}} is far superior to what is produced now, even by the European nations. They have boats moved by solar-powered engines while Europe has not even discovered the steam engine yet.

* ''AssassinsCreed'' 2 and Brotherhood both feature this. Altair's centuries old armor is better than all modern armor. Justified by it being made from a {{Precursor}} alloy. Ditto for Brutus' (as in Caesar's killer) armor, which is better than modern armor too, despite being even older. Similarly, Altair's sword and Brutus' dagger are better than their modern counterparts.

Do not confuse with the RealLife nostalgia due to TheyDontMakeThemLikeTheyUsedTo. Compare StrongerWithAge when this applies to creatures.

* Subverted by keeping old technology as backup for new technology should the new technology fail. New technology can be surprisingly vulnerable compared to old technology, which is usually more robust and durable. New technology often depends on either electricity, support network or availability of third party services while old technology is often stand-alone and can be used without electricity.
** Radio might be seen as laughably primitive compared to a cell phone...until the local cell tower stops working. Amateur radio was used extensively as means of communication in areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
** Hotels may have guest information stored in a computer system and on pieces of paper. If the computer network goes down, employees can still consult the paper records.
** Every seagoing ship is required to have sextant and nautical almanac as the backup navigation gear. The rationale is that they do not require electricity. Should the electronic navigation gear go out of function, the captain would still be able to navigate with the old fashioned means.
*** According to Finnish Search and Rescue (SAR) association, some 50% of all search and rescue cases are due to over-reliance on modern technology and inability to navigate with the old-fashioned means or simply getting lost after the GPS plotter has died.

* Subverted by keeping old technology as backup for new technology should the new technology fail.
** Radio might be seen as laughably primitive compared to a cell phone...until the local cell tower stops working. Amateur radio was used extensively as means of communication in areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
** Hotels may have guest information stored in a computer system and on pieces of paper. If the computer network goes down, employees can still consult the paper records.
** Every seagoing ship is required to have sextant and nautical almanac as the backup navigation gear. The rationale is that they do not require electricity. Should the electronic navigation gear go out of function, the captain would still be able to navigate with the old fashioned means.
*** According to Finnish Search and Rescue (SAR) association, some 50% of all search and rescue cases are due to over-reliance on modern technology and inability to navigate with the old-fashioned means or simply getting lost after the GPS plotter has died.

* The vinyl LP record is still preferred over CDs and other binary musical formats by connoisseurs.

** Radio might be seen as laughably primitive compared to a cell phone...until the local cell tower stops working. Amateur radio was used extensively as means of communication in areas devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
** Hotels may have guest information stored in a computer system and on pieces of paper. If the computer network goes down, employees can still consult the paper records.
** Every seagoing ship is required to have sextant and nautical almanac as the backup navigation gear. The rationale is that they do not require electricity. Should the electronic navigation gear go out of function, the captain would still be able to navigate with the old fashioned means.
*** This troper has personally experienced the GPS dying at blue seas and having to navigate with sextant.
*** According to Finnish SAR association, some 50% of all SAR cases are due to over-reliance on modern technology and inability to navigate with the old-fashioned means or simply getting lost after the GPS plotter has died.

** Magic itself also follows this rule. Servant Caster, who lived in the Age of Gods (Anciet Greece), can use very powerful spells using few (and sometimes only one) word, while modern magic users need one minute to conjure magic of such power, it's no wonder that her "High-Speed Divine Words" skill is at A level.

* The sound produced by cord instruments takes on a noticeably different timbre if they were constructed a very long time ago; the aging of the wood changes the dampening profile of the resonating chamber. This is one reason Stradivarius violins are so sought-after: Not only was Antonio Stradivari a highly skilled craftsman, but his violins are now over three centuries old. Additionally, it is thought that Stradivari's primary source of material for his more famous violins may have been cold-preserved wood from ruins that were already at least hundreds of years old, making this a real-life [[PlayingWithATrope Exaggerated Trope]].

* The sound produced by violins and similarly-shaped instruments takes on a noticeably different timbre if they were constructed a very long time ago; the aging of the wood changes the dampening profile of the resonating chamber. This is one reason Stradivarius violins are so sought-after: Not only was Antonio Stradivari a highly skilled craftsman, but his violins are now over three centuries old. Additionally, it is thought that Stradivari's primary source of material for his more famous violins may have been cold-preserved wood from ruins that were already at least hundreds of years old, making this a real-life [[PlayingWithATrope Exaggerated Trope]].

** It seems that this belief about the superior sound quality of older violins might be a myth. According to [[http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2012/01/02/144482863/double-blind-violin-test-can-you-pick-the-strad an experiment from the end of 2011]], blindfolded experts cannot tell the difference between a Stradivarius violin and a modern violin.

* ''{{Beowulf}}'' has many of the weapons, helmets, armours, standards and cups mentioned as prized heirlooms and passed around and down generations for a long time. It is suggested they were forged by [[PrecursorRace Giants]].

** Human technology is locked in stasis due to technology [[AveMachina becoming a religion]] and 'discovery' effectively becoming archaeology - the only way an innovation will ever be approved by the high priests of the tech-cult is if it can be shown to have been an original part, or intended optional extra, of the base design.

* ''AssassinsCreed'' 2 and Brotherhood both feature this. Altair's centuries old armor is better than all modern armor. Justified by it being made from a {{Precursor}} alloy. However, Brutus' (as in Caesar's killer) armor is better than modern armor too, despite being even older and having no real sign of being made from {{Precursor}} tech. Similarly, Altair's sword and Brutus' dagger are better than their modern counterparts. Again neither have signs of precursor tech in them.

* In KingdomOfLoathing, the pieces of the Antique Arms & Armory are the first pieces of equipment to hit the power ceiling, with each of them having 200 power. However, they also have drawback effects (most notably being BreakableWeapons) that make them AwesomeButImpractical. But then again, the stuff you can dig up at the bottom of the sea are all [[InfinityPlusOneSword Infinity Plus One Swords]], as are the pieces of the Legendary Regalia (old, powerful artifacts that have a connection to your class). So there are at least three examples here.

Do not confuse with the RealLife nostalgia due to [[{{ptitle8170np5c6iu6}} They Don't Make Them Like They Used To]]. Compare StrongerWithAge when this applies to creatures.

* Newer technology often depends on certain assumptions and can be ineffective or even useless outside of that context. This can result in having "obsolete" technology used in places where new technology fares poorly or kept around as a backup.